


Dissonance

by Shippingk8



Series: Freezerburn Stories [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Confrontation, Drama, F/F, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Runited, Volume 5 (RWBY), relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shippingk8/pseuds/Shippingk8
Summary: All the members of team RWBY are on the move, each with their own set of goals and challenges. Events will bring them back together in Mistral, but what awaits each of them might be more than they are ready to face. Team RWBY have yet to learn that convergence is rarely harmonious, and time can be the enemy of relationships.**This is the sequel to the Volume 4 RWBY fanfiction, "Recovery." It picks up where "Recovery" left off and will include plotlines, POV chapters, and major character development for all four members of team RWBY. Look forward to fight scenes, new Grimm, hard conversations, mystery, Mistral and Remnant world building, and other fun twists and turns to the Volume 5 cannon.**
Relationships: Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Freezerburn Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/626390
Comments: 36
Kudos: 106





	1. Prologue - A Quiet Moment

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to the Volume 4 RWBY fanfiction "Recovery." It borrows a few key elements from volume 5, but will hopefully keep people on their toes and be a satisfying second act to its predecessor, "Recovery." 
> 
> And it all starts off with a Yang!

The muffled sounds of water rushing past the hull acted as soothing white noise. Yang let out a content sigh and pulled Weiss closer into her side. From where they laid on the bed they could just barely catch the sun setting into the water through their window. 

In less than a day they would land in Mistral. Which meant that this was the last chance that she and Weiss would have to relax before they were back on the road as they tracked down Ruby. 

“That was a deep sigh,” Weiss smiled into her words as she squeezed Yang back. “What are you thinking about?” 

“Hmm, lots of things,” she answered casually. Yang craned her neck as she looked down at Weiss laying against her chest. “Appreciating the chance to have a quiet moment with you, anticipating what comes next.” She took a deep breath and held it in as she smiled. “Even though we still need to find them, I can’t help getting excited to see Ruby again.”

She repositioned herself on the pillows she was propped up on so she could hold out her prosthetic arm. “You might need to find a locking mechanism for this though,” Yang grinned. “Once Rubes sees it I’m worried she will try to steal it just so she can tinker with it. Though, she will be impressed that you helped make it for me.”

Weiss leaned away from her as she sat up. When Yang looked over at her girlfriend she saw the slight frown that was on the princess’s face. 

Yang reached out and took her girlfriend’s hand, “What’s wrong?” 

Blue eyes looked away for a moment before they returned to look up at her, “I am just… worried.”

Yang’s brow knitted together as she tried to figure out why Weiss felt anxious. 

Weiss’s eyes widened. “I am excited to see everyone again,” she rushed to say. “But I honestly don’t know how Ruby is going to take us being together. I don’t think she will be mad, but I’m her partner and now I am dating her sister. It’s-”

“Awkward?” Yang guessed as she filled the pause Weiss had left hanging in the air.

“Yes, no, it’s-” Weiss waffled as she absently picked at the corner of her thumb with her finger. “You and her haven’t seen each other for almost a year and I don’t want to be in the way of that by proclaiming that we are together.” She looked up at Yang with timid eyes, “Is it okay that we reconnect with everyone before we tell them that we are a couple?”

A soft smile touched Yang’s lips before she leaned forward to kiss her anxious girlfriend. 

When she pulled away she grinned, “That is a very reasonable request, but I also can’t say no to you when you act so adorable.”

“I will remember that the next time you disagree with me,” Weiss rolled her eyes, but quickly became serious again. “What worries me is the amount of time it has been since we have all seen each other. A lot of things have changed since then,” she emphasized. “You’re her sister, but I’m worried that it will take Ruby and I more work to get back in sync. So I don’t want to put pressure on things by immediately announcing that we’re dating.”

Yang shrugged and smiled, “I get it. But I am still excited to see everyone.”

Weiss’s face lightened for a moment, but then her brow furrowed slightly as Yang’s words sunk in. She didn’t need to ask why.

Once they found Ruby they would be reunited with everyone. Everyone but one person, and her old partner sat in the shadow of both of their minds. 

Finding Ruby was priority number one. After that however, they would need to somehow locate Blake. Yang laid back against the pillows and held in a sigh. Finding her would bring a lot of different things.

Yang finally let out her sigh as she refocused her train of thought. She wanted to get back to cuddling in their small but cozy quarters, but instead Weiss reached across her to grab her scroll off of the nightstand next to the bed. 

“Weiss,” Yang growled. “You know you won’t have service again until we can connect to the Mistral communications relay.”

All she got in response was a tight lipped frown from her girlfriend. After a moment Weiss shut her scroll and let Yang put it back on the side table for her. 

“I’m just worried about Glenn,” her girlfriend confessed. “It takes days to get a response through and in the business world that can be the equivalent of a month. Glenn is extremely capable of running things in my absence, but even I have trouble anticipating the depths my father will sink to in order to get his way.”

Given her experience with Jacque Schnee, Yang didn’t at all question her girlfriend’s reason for worrying. That didn’t, however, change the fact that this was the last chance they both had to relax before hitting the road again. 

“Your father really isn’t what I want to be thinking about before bed.” Yang smirked and looked her girlfriend up and down, “Not when there are other things we could be doing.”

“You can wait until we are off the ship for that,” Weiss chided as she pushed back on her before laying against her chest again. “The walls are far too thin for the type of antics I know you want to get up to.”

Yang laughed and kissed the top of Weiss’s head, before sighing, “Fine. We will have a lot to do tomorrow on top of trying to get in a full day of travel. We should try to get a good night’s sleep.”

She felt her girlfriend’s hand grip the fabric of her shirt, but there was a long pause before Weiss finally asked the question that had made her tense up, “Have you been sleeping through the night lately?”

Yang clenched her jaw. Since they had left Atlas Weiss had been doing more check-ins with her than normal. It was perfectly reasonable for her girlfriend to be worried about her. She didn’t have a group to go to anymore or a psychologist to talk through things with, but it still bothered her when Weiss asked.

Not because Weiss was being overprotective, but because Yang knew she was right to be worried. A tension built in her chest. It had been almost a week since her last nightmare, but that just meant that the next one was overdue. 

She forced a smile, “Yeah, surprisingly enough.” Yang squeezed her girlfriend, “Sleeping next to someone so soft and cuddly must be good for me. Or,” she grinned, “maybe it is that you are so good at wearing me out before bed? I bet we can be quiet if we-.”

“Goodnight you evasive dragon,” Weiss groaned. Then her girlfriend shifted to slip under the covers. “I’ll help you pass out tomorrow night. For now keep me warm.”

Yang grinned as she climbed under the sheets and pulled Weiss tightly into the curve of her body, “Your wish is my command, Princess.” She entwined their legs as she got ready to fall asleep, “But don’t get mad if I hold you to that promise.”

* * *

  
  


Blackness surrounded Yang on all sides. As she took in her surroundings more carefully, she could sense the dirt beneath her boots and make out the faint ring of trees that marked the edge of a nearly pitch black clearing. What stood out the most, however, were the red eyes that were slowly populating the tree line around her. 

Even if they were just beowolves, the number of grimm were quickly becoming more than Yang could handle on her own. The fact that the eyes were of different sizes and at different heights was what made her heart rate increase.

“Good,” an annoyingly smug voice came from behind her, “You are smart enough to be afraid, but this is nothing compared to what waits for you.”

Yang turned around to meet the red eyes of an ornamental grimm mask and simply frowned at her mother. Experience had taught her that waiting was the fastest way to get her mom to spit out what it was that she wanted.

Raven took off her helm and shook out her hair. “You will soon be in Mistral,” her eyes were locked onto Yang’s, “It is time that we meet in person.”

Getting real answers from her mother was high on her list, but there were other things, other people that were more important. Yang didn’t break her gaze as she spoke, “First, I need to find Ruby, then we can talk.”

Red eyes narrowed at her and a deep scowl marked her mother’s face as she spoke, “There are certain things you need to know before you see your sister and all who accompany her.”

Tired of the games, Yang folded her arms and asked, “What’s wrong with telling me right now?”

Her mother rested a hand on the hilt of her sword, “It is the sort of conversation that needs to happen in person.”

Yang smirked, “Dad and I exchanged messages before I left Atlas.” She let her words sit on the air, “So I know that should be easy enough. You can let me wake up right now and we can talk on the deck of the ship. Though,” Yang narrowed her eyes, “he was confused when I told him you had been meeting me in my dreams. Apparently, that has never been a part of your semblance.”

Had she not spent so much time with the Schnee women, Yang might have missed her mother’s tell. Raven clenched her jaw and Yang saw her eyes, almost imperceptibly, move back and forth in thought, as her mother considered what to say next. Unfortunately, she also now knew her mother well enough to know that being confronted meant that Raven wasn’t likely to give up any other information tonight.

So Yang decided to make a point. She threw her arms open, “You taught me not to take people at their word. You obviously want something,” she pointedly turned and walked towards the forest that was filled with glowing red eyes. She was tired of being hurt and manipulated by her withholding mother, “when you are ready to talk honestly you know where to find me. Until then, don’t bother contacting me.” 

With that said Yang closed her eyes, and took a long steady breath in. 

When she opened her eyes again she found herself looking up at the slatted wood ceiling of their cabin. She laid there for a long moment letting her vision and consciousness fully return. But soon after felt a tension build in her chest that wouldn’t let her stay still.

As carefully as she could she got out of bed and sat at the small table in their room that was next to the window. She leaned back in the small wooden chair as she stared out at the shattered moon. Both of her fists instinctively clenched as she considered the conversation she had just had.

She knew that she needed to find her sister as soon as possible, but she was also worried that she needed the information her mother was withholding if she was going to protect everyone. Neither path was likely to give her everything she needed.

Yang looked down at her prosthetic in frustration.

**_I’m already at a disadvantage._ **

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

**_But I have to be strong enough to keep them safe._ **

Rustling from the direction of the bed broke Yang’s focus. 

She watched as Weiss reached out for her in her sleep. It was cute, but it also made guilt grow in Yang’s chest. 

Before she could decide on how to react Weiss sat up on her elbow and rubbed her eyes. “Yang?” A frown marked Weiss’s face and she squinted as she tried to figure out why Yang wasn’t in bed, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she forced herself to smile, “I’m fine.” Yang left the table and climbed back into bed. She protectively wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and nuzzled her face into the top of Weiss’s head as she settled back into bed, “Just some phantom pains.”


	2. Chapter 1 - Awake & Moving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby deals with the aftermath of barely making it to Mistral alive, as well as, what being "the chosen one" means when you only feel like a failure.

The sensation of cool water against her face helped to wash away some of the tiredness that had been hanging around her neck like a weight. 

Ruby grabbed the towel next to the sink and dried her face. After putting it back, she was confronted with something she desperately needed to know more about, but was also avoiding. 

Silver eyes looked back at her in the mirror, stubbornly refusing to appear anything but ordinary.

**_How do these make me a leader?_ **

Her vision faded as the memory of Penny being sliced into pieces flashed into her mind. Then the memory of Pyrrha being shot through the heart and turned to dust surfaced with painful clarity. She gripped the edge of the sink, her knuckles turning white as she tried to push back against the overwhelming panic that the memories brought on.

She took an unsteady deep breath and shook her head. 

**_I need to-_ **

Ruby forced herself to leave the small confining white walls of the bathroom. 

**_-keep moving._ **

She rubbed her face to try and shake off the heavy feeling of panic. The afternoon sun coming in through the open window of her uncle’s recovery room greeted her when she took a long breath in and opened her eyes. She took in her surroundings in an effort to ground herself. 

The room had become familiar to her in the week she had spent in it. Once the local doctor had stabilized her uncle, the woman had moved Qrow to this room at the inn. After seeing how worried Ruby was, the doctor asked the innkeeper to set up a cot for her in her uncle’s room. 

Ruby tried to push away her anxiety as she looked over at her uncle. He was still the same, but that was so much better than he was when they had been rescued by the Mistral border patrol. The poison from Tyrian’s tail had left her invincible uncle delirious and on the brink of death. 

She absentmindedly pulled at the edge of her tattered cape as she remembered how desperate their situation had been after the fight with the Nuckelavee. Their group was so beaten down and worn out that after fighting that weird stretchy armed creep that she knew they couldn’t have made it to the next town in time to save him. It was a miracle that the patrol had found them in time.

Unspoken worry bubbled inside of her. She felt tired as she walked over to the side of her uncle’s bed. She pulled at the top edge of the blanket that was over him to smooth it out. She needed him to wake up soon, but was just happy that he was alive. 

Her chest tightened. 

He had gotten hurt because she jumped in to try and help, even after he had told her to stay back. Her hand instinctively clenched at the corner of his blanket that it still rested on. 

She had always struggled with anxiety, but this, this guilt. Knowing that her actions had led to so many being hurt. It was too much. 

Trying and failing to swallow down her worry, she turned to slump in the chair next to his bed to keep watch. She nervously bounced her legs before she spotted her scroll sitting on the side table next to the chair she was sitting in. For a second she thought about opening it to help distract herself. There was a chance that she might even have a new message now that they were in a town with a relay receiver. But deep down she knew that Yang still hadn’t sent her a message. 

She had sent plenty of voicemails through the relay network to try and reach Yang back in Patch, but her sister never responded to any of them. Her throat tightened as she remembered how broken her sister was in those months before she left. She knew from the messages her dad sent back that Yang had gotten better physically, but from the sound of his voice she knew that the vibrant spark her sister had always had was still not back. 

Sadness and worry pulled at her. Every time they had reached a communication relay on their journey, she hoped that her scroll would update with a message from her sister. But after nearly six months she now worried that her sister might never return to her old self. 

**_I shouldn’t have left her._ **

Anxiety flared inside of her once again. 

**_Every choice I make keeps hurting the people around me._ **

Desperate to get away from her feelings, she picked up her phone and slid it open. The lock screen showed a picture from the end of their second semester when they were taking a break from training for the Vital Festival. Her eyes narrowed as the picture reminded her of what once was. 

**_I’m supposed to be a leader, but my original team is… gone._ **

Ruby sighed as she opened her messages and saw only months old voicemails from Weiss. Her best friend was the only person who had tried to keep in touch with her, but for the last two months she hadn’t received anything new. The last leg of their journey, before being rescued and brought to this town, had been virtually devoid of any sort of civilization, let alone any places that had a working relay receiver. 

There had been an abandoned village with a receiver that they had found right before their fight with Tyrian, but it had been in such disrepair that she wasn’t sure if the message to her sister had gone through. 

She shut her scroll and looked at her sleeping uncle. He had dumped so much information on them, but she still felt like she was mostly in the dark.

**_How am I supposed to know what to do when I don’t even fully understand what’s going on?_ **

She sunk her face into her hand. Ozpin had picked her to lead, but she didn’t feel like a leader. She felt like a failure. 

She wasn’t sure what she had gained in the year she had spent at Beacon. Sure she had learned about grimm, history, and battle strategy. But none of her classes had prepared her for what it was to lead, let alone how to keep a team safe and together. 

If the Fall at Beacon hadn’t happened then she would have had two more years to learn and grow up before becoming a full huntress. Instead, she was forced to spend the last year recovering at home and traveling through Sanus and Anima on foot after watching two of her friends die.

Her foot started to nervously bounce. She had set out on their journey thinking that they were going to hunt down Cinder to make her pay for what she had done, but Qrow had revealed that Cinder was just one part of a much larger world-conquering entity. Her thoughts came into focus for a moment.

**_Salem._ **

What they had been told about her sounded like a plot from a comic book or a fantasy novel. Ancient evil, magic, secret schemes to conquer and destroy the world. It was almost too much to believe.

And because she had silver eyes… she was “the chosen one.” 

Ruby physically couldn’t sit anymore. She got up and walked to the desk near the window to check over Crescent Rose. She started to strip apart her weapon to do a full maintenance check to try and get away from everything swirling around in her head.

When she read stories as a kid, she didn’t remember the heroines of them feeling so lost, overwhelmed, or ill-prepared. Things somehow always just worked out for the characters of those fables. They were brave in the face of evil and managed to find what they needed in the last moments of battle to save the day. 

Her mind flashed to Pyrrha as she reached the top of the tower. She hadn’t been able to move as her friend died in front of her. 

Ruby’s hands started to shake and she clasped them together in front of her as she closed her eyes and forced the image of her friend from her mind. She bit her lip as she fought not to let tears form. 

Being the hero wasn’t how things had happened for her. She had failed. Pyrrha was dead, Cinder got away, and the kingdoms were barely holding themselves together. 

It wasn’t like a storybook at all. She opened her eyes and grabbed for her allen hex screwdriver. 

“Ruby?” Jaune entered the room, not bothering to knock.

He spotted her in the corner and paused. “How is he today?”

She looked back at her uncle and let out a sigh, “His pulse is strong now, but he still hasn’t been able to wake up. The doctor looked at him this morning, but said the same thing as last time. She doesn’t know when he will wake up, but she thinks it will be soon based on how hard his aura is working to clear the last of the poison from his system.”

Jaune’s jaw tightened and he looked away. After a moment of hesitation he spoke, “Ruby, I think we should keep moving on to the capital,” he paused, “without your uncle. We have been here for a week and we’ve been traveling for months. After what he told us about Salem, we can’t afford to wait anymore.”

“We can’t leave him here.” Panic made Ruby’s voice raise. “Even if we get to the capital, we don’t have any idea what to do when we get there.”

Jaune took in a deep breath and let it out, “We know that Qrow was going to Haven to meet the headmaster. So, we can start there. Your uncle can,” he shook his head in disbelief, “fly. It isn’t like he will have trouble catching up to us.” 

She knew Jaune was right, but he wasn’t taking into account that if they were to travel on foot without her uncle, they would have to fight whatever lay between this town and the capital. She looked at Jaune’s posture and a now familiar worry started to nag at her conscious mind. Her once awkward and hesitant friend had become trigger happy since The Fall. To the point that she knew it was her responsibility to keep RNJR safe while they traveled. Ruby turned away from her tall blond friend and walked to the window to try and think.

It felt like the walls of the room were closing in on her. 

Part of her agreed with Jaune that they needed to start moving as soon as possible, but she just wanted to sink into a corner and wait for an adult to come and fix things. They needed someone with experience and training to make these decisions, someone who knew what they were doing and what was really going on. Instead, she and Jaune were arguing about how to stumble ahead recklessly into the dark. 

She was afraid it would all end the same way as before.

“Awful eager to get rid of me, huh.” Qrow growled from behind them.

Ruby’s eyes went wide and she whipped her head around to see if her mind was playing tricks on her.

But it wasn’t, her uncle was pushing himself up to sit against the headboard of his bed. Without thinking her semblance activated to let her crash into his chest for a hug, “Uncle Qrow!” She squeezed him, half worried that he would disappear or that she was dreaming, “I was so worried!”

“Ahh,” her uncle’s body stiffened, “I’m still banged up kiddo. Easy on the spine.” 

She let go, but stayed sitting on his bed, not wanting to leave his side.

“As annoying as it is to admit, sword boy isn’t wrong,” Qrow peaked under the bandage on his waist and grimaced. He let the gauze fall back into place and looked up at them with a stern face, “We need to get to Leo as soon as possible.” He looked around for a second and then grabbed his scroll off the nightstand when he spotted it. “Continuing to travel on foot is no longer an option, we need to secure air travel to the capital.” 

A deeper than normal frown started to form on her uncle’s face as his taps and swipes became more aggressive. He slammed his scroll shut, “This damn thing won’t pick up a signal.” 

Jaune reached into his pocket and flipped open his own device, “It isn’t just you, service in town has been spotty for the past few days.”

Qrow rubbed his face with a hand then looked out the open window of his room. Despite having slept for a full week, he still looked tired. 

“It will take me the rest of the day, but I can arrange passage for us to the capital,” he finally spoke. “I’ll just have to go out and talk to a few people in town while you all get packed up.”

Jaune let out a sigh, but smiled, “I’m glad that you are finally awake, but if you think we’re letting you go out alone while you are still injured, you're crazy.”

Qrow rolls his eyes, “And here I thought I was the babysitter.”

* * *

Ruby was ecstatic to be out of the inn. She bounded down the stairs of the small airship hub, weaving through people as she went. She reached the sidewalk and stopped to look back and find her uncle. 

His clothes had been mended, and his sword hung from his waist like normal, but Ruby could tell from the hesitation in her uncle’s gait that he was not fully healed. Still, it felt good to have him back. 

She let a small smile reach her face before looking back at the busy street they would need to cross. Her eyes grew wide when she did. She didn’t know how she could have missed it on their way to the ticket booth.

Ruby practically vibrated with energy; it was a Mistral weapon’s shop!

She whipped around to find where her uncle was. He had finally reached the bottom of the stairs and was looking angrily at his down-turned and clearly empty flask. 

Her hands were clenched and raised in front of her in barely contained excitement, “Uncle Qrow, can I?”

“Huh?” He looked up confused, but she quickly pointed to the weapon shop behind her. He squinted as he looked at where she was pointing to. A grin made it to his face when he realized what she wanted. 

He shrugged, “We don’t leave until tomorrow morning. Have at it kid.”

The instant she gained approval, she activated her semblance and raced across the busy street. Only a few people’s robes were ruffled by the wind she created as she passed, and one car braked hard upon seeing a blur speed by. She knew that she shouldn’t have used her semblance just to get there faster, but she couldn’t help it. There were so many mechanisms that she wanted to study from Mistralain weapon design. The metalwork in Anima was renowned for its incredible durability and strength.

Her hands pressed against the glass as she practically drooled at the weapons on display in the front window.

She was about to run into the shop when she remembered her responsibility to keep an eye on her uncle. If she didn’t, it might mean that she would have to hunt him down later and carry him home.

Ruby turned to look back across the street. What she saw didn’t look strange at first, other than the fact that her uncle usually avoided talking to kids. He was awkwardly conversing with a boy a little younger than her with patched pants and a simple white shirt that made him look like he belonged in the countryside.

Qrow looked down at him skeptically with a raised eyebrow and the boy ran his gloved hand through his dark hair as he paused to think about what to do or say next. The noise of the people and cars that were moving past made it impossible to determine what they were talking about, but the boy gestured with open hands as he spoke. 

She didn’t know what the boy had said, but her uncle’s eyes widened slightly then narrowed, and it set her nerves on edge.

Ruby’s eyes darted back and forth as she tried to pick up on some detail that would help her understand the situation. A pit in her stomach grew as her uncle’s posture became stiff and serious. 

She was about to rush back across the street to find out what was going on when she saw the boy straighten like something inside of him had shifted. He pulled a large handle with a metal lever from off the back of his waist and showed it to her uncle. But something about it looked wrong, like it should be attached to something.

He squeezed the lever and the handle extended into a black cane. 

Ruby’s eyes went wide. She recognized the unique design of her former headmaster’s weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG that was a hard chapter to write!  
> Still working on getting my Ruby POV up to par, but I do think I will get there eventually.   
> This was a heavy chapter, but I hope people enjoyed seeing that Ruby will be getting a lot of character growth in this story. 
> 
> Leave the comments! I would love feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> Sound off everyone!
> 
> Kudos are appreciated, but knowing everyone's thought about the chapter, theories, and things they are looking forward to in the comments keeps me motivated and better able to deliver on an in future chapters. Your comments are GREATLY appreciated, so thank you!!!!
> 
>  **** Check out "The Bet," if you are interested in reading some domestic Freezerburn with a ridiculous and smutty twist.****  
>  https://archiveofourown.org/works/25692631/chapters/62379775


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